WMU well represented among Fulbright recipients

June 30, 2010

KALAMAZOO--Six Western Michigan University faculty members received prestigious Fulbright awards to spend all or part of the 2009-10 academic year abroad studying, teaching and conducting research on topics of international importance.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 and is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the federal government. It is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. It's U.S. award recipients are chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential.

The traditional Fulbright Scholar Program annually sends about 1,100 American scholars and professionals to some 125 countries, where they lecture or conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields for a semester or academic year. The Fulbright Specialist Program, created in 2000 to complement the traditional program, sends faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning and related subjects at overseas academic institutions for a period of two to six weeks.

Long-term Fulbright Scholars

Dr. James Butterfield, professor of and director of graduate studies for political science. Butterfield was hosted from Sept. 18, 2009, through March 16, 2010, by the Department of Political Science at Saratov State University in Russia. He was lecturing at that university and researching aspects of small-business associations in Russia, including their advocacy strategies and relationships with local and regional government agencies.

Dr. Charles Henderson, associate professor of physics and faculty member in WMU's Mallinson Institute for Science Education. Henderson was hosted Jan. 10-June 24 by the Finnish Institute for Educational Research at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. He was expanding on his current research related to instructional reform in higher education, and also collaborated with faculty and graduate students in UJ's Department of Teacher Education.

Dr. Chiayang Hueng, associate professor of economics. Hueng is being hosted Jan. 1-July 1 by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. He is researching the statutory independence of the Republic of China's (Taiwan's) central bank.

Short-term Fulbright Specialists

Dr. Sisay Asefa, professor of economics and director of the WMU Center for African Development Policy Research. Asefa was hosted Nov. 12-Dec. 23, 2009, by the School of Business, Management and Trade at Adama University in Ethiopia. He was reviewing and consulting on AU's master's program in development economics as well as advising several AU graduate students, including two who are on WMU's campus from May through July and drawing upon WMU faculty members and research resources to advance their doctoral research.

Dr. Chansheng He, professor of and graduate advisor for geography. He was hosted Dec. 2-23, 2009, by the School of Environmental Science and Engineering at Shanghai Jiaotong University in China. He was presenting lectures and workshops on nonpoint source pollution, hydrologic modeling, and U.S. water resources policy, as well as consulting on the environmental science and water resources curricula at SJU, Lanzhou University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Michael Ryan, associate professor of economics. Ryan was hosted June 18-July 20, 2009, by the Department of Economics at the University of Bamberg in Germany. Ryan was lecturing to graduate students on the new empirical and theoretical developments in international trade and foreign direct investment. He also was making research presentations at economics departments around Germany as well as conducting seminars and workshops for students working on their doctoral dissertation theses at both the University of Bamberg and University of Bayreuth.